Payson's Chance
by mikafan17
Summary: After California Girls, Payson's parent decide to send her away in hopes of helping her. They send her to her aunt, Sam Carter.
1. Chapter 1

Kim Keeler watched her eldest daughter, Payson, sleep. She had never seen her daughter so… defeated. They had just returned from a weekend in California. Payson, being Payson, insisted on seeing another doctor there. She sighed; she had gotten her hopes up for even a glimmer of a chance for Payson to do gymnastics again. She should have known better, all she did was cause her daughter to lose what little hope she had left. She left Payson to her dreams and went to the kitchen. Her husband looked at her, mug of coffee in his hands. After he finished it, he was going back to Minnesota. She wanted him to stay, but he had work in the morning.

"Honey," his voice pulled her from her thoughts. "I was thinking, Payson being here will only remind her of what she will never do again."

She knew this was coming. They had discussed it a few times before, but had still not decided. "I don't know, I mean sending her away? Is this really the right thing?"

"Maybe it's time for her to do what we always wanted, to be a normal teenager. One that goes to school, has friends she doesn't compete with, boyfriends, and shops."

"I don't know Mark. I think she might just get worse, like it'll be reality hitting her."

"Like what just happened isn't?" he snapped. "Sorry, but, I think it might be best."

"I'll call my sister and see if she's willing. If she is, then I'll tell Payson in the morning."

Mark stood and put his now empty mug in the sink. He then kissed his wife and left for a long night driving the road to Minnesota. Kim picked up the phone and hesitantly dialed her younger sister's phone number. After five rings a tired 'hello?' reached her ears.

"Hi Sam, its Kim. Did I wake you?" Kim Carter-Keeler asked her younger sister.

"No, I just got in. So, what's up? Its been what? Five? Six years since we last talked?"

"I think that's about right. After all, Becca was just a baby then. Actually I was wondering if you would do me a favor."

"Depends on what it is."

Kim explained the entire situation to Sam, about Payson's career to the accident to just that weekend. It all spilled out, she told Sam that Mark and her had thought it would be best. "So, will you do it?"

"Yeah, I'd love to have some company here and my friend Janet's daughter is just a little younger, they'll get along, I think. Though, I have to warn you, I'm gone on missions from time to time. She could stay with Janet on those times. So when does she come?"

a/n This is a plot bunny that's been stuck in my head for weeks. hope you like it!


	2. Chapter 2

Payson woke up tired. Apparently, having your dreams crushed can do that to you. She wished she could sleep more, but she woke early out of habit, one that she couldn't break. She got up, stretching, before going to the bathroom to get cleaned up. After brushing her teeth and showering, she went back to her room to change clothes. She then changed into a gym suit before going down to breakfast.

Her mom and sister were sitting at the table, eating cereal. Payson grabbed a bowl and fixed her breakfast. Her mom gave Becca a look. "I'm gonna go get my gym bag." Becca said, leaving Payson and their mom.

Payson was about to take a bite of the cereal when her mom reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Payson?"

"Yeah mom, what is it?" She could tell her mom was stressing over what it was.

"Pay, you're dad and I have been talking. We've been talking about what's going to happen to you now. We think that you being here is only going to hurt you. We're sending you to live with your Aunt Sam." Kim just let it out, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"What?! How can you send me away? Why? Did I do something wrong? I can't go. Please don't make me go." Payson was out of her seat, breakfast abandoned, shaking her mom, and was going hysterical. Normally, she was good at controlling her emotions, but with everything that recently happened, this snapped her.

Kim Keeler grabbed her daughter, pulling her into a hug, "Honey, you didn't do anything wrong. We just want you to be happy and you can't here. Your dad and I discussed it ever since Boston. We talked about it for a long time. We think its best."

Payson pulled away from her mom. "You've been talking since Boston?! And you made this decision about me, for me, and without ever asking me what I wanted? I hate you." She was screaming at this point. She left the kitchen to go back to her room and locked the door before crying on her bed.

Meanwhile, eighty-five miles away, Sam Carter was doing something that was rare in her life-she was at home. She had been home since she was dragged out of work by her CO, Colonel Jack O'Neill. She was silently thanking him. If not for his dragging her away from work, she would have missed her sister's call. Kim was her older sister by ten years. She was already married and pregnant with Payson when their mother passed away. Kim was never close to their father and after their mother's death, she only stayed in contact through Christmas cards.

Sam was glad Kim called. They hadn't talked in a long time. Kim was the one Sam went to when she didn't want to talk to her mom, and now, it seemed, that Kim was returning the favor. She knew Kim was a strong, prideful, independent woman that wouldn't have called unless she was in serious need. How could Sam have said no?

Sam shook her thoughts away as she shook the dust of the blanket that was previously on the guest room bed. She had a total of three bedrooms- her room (which had almost as much dust as the guest room), Cassie's room, and the guest room.

She wondered what Payson would be like. She had last seen the girl as a ten-year-old. Who knew how much the girl had changed? She would have to call Kim back to ask about Payson's interest. She put the blanket down and grabbed the phone. She dialed the number that her sister gave her.

"Hello?" Her sister asked wearily.

"Hey Kim, what's wrong?" She could tell her sister was upset.

"I just broke the news to Payson. She didn't take it too well. She's currently crying in her room."

"Don't worry, she'll accept it eventually. I wanted to know about some of her interests so I can decorate her room."

"Pretty much, it's just gymnastics. She has no interests outside of it, unfortunately. Maybe you could get some posters of some bands or actors. Oh, and she's also good at science, maybe you could help her get an interest in that. You do have a doctorate in physics, after all." Kim said, thinking hard.

"All right, I'll ask Cassie about what's in and maybe even get her to help decorate."

"How old is Cassie, anyway?" Kim asked, hoping her daughter could possibly have a friend.

"She'll be sixteen next month." Sam answered, recalling that she still had to get the girl a birthday present.

"Good, maybe she can help Payson adjust to school. She might have some trouble. She hasn't been to school since the sixth grade." Kim warned Sam, worrying about the transition her daughter would have to soon face.

"I'll do anything I can, Kim you know me. Anyway, I gotta go, so I'll see you and Payson the day after tomorrow." Sam turned off the phone, turning back to the soon- to-be transformed room.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was long gone by the time Payson left her room. In fact, it was the middle of the night. She wanted to make sure she didn't see her mom unless absolutely necessary. She was too upset to do so earlier and her mom hovered all day. So Payson waited… and waited… and waited. She didn't even go to pick Becca up; one of her friends dropped her off. Finally, her mom went to bed, leaving her free to leave her room. The first thing she did was go to the kitchen and eat. She grabbed some left over Veggie Lo Mein and choked it down without even warming the slimy, cold noodles in the microwave. Her stomach growled in appreciation of the substance.

After eating, she went to the living room and sat down on the couch. On the table was a leather bound book with a photo of her mother and a blonde woman. Her mom was in her late twenties and heavily pregnant, while the woman looked about sixteen. They were both dressed in black and holding tightly onto one another. Underneath the photo was a gold, calligraphic 'sisters forever'. She opened the book and saw her mom as a ten-year-old holding a baby. There was a little boy next to her.

"Kimmy, Mark, and baby Samantha" the description said. Another photo of her mom, she looked about twenty-one and was with the brunette man-Mark-and a pre-teen blond. Mark was wearing a blue gown and holding a high-school diploma. This one was titled "Mark's Graduation". She then noticed an official looking man standing behind them. She remembered that he was her grandfather. She saw him once when she was twelve. He had come in person to tell her mom that he had cancer.

She then remembered how he called some time later telling her mom about going into remission and taking an assignment in Europe. She continued to look at the photos. They were mainly of her mom and Sam, with Mark in a few. She also saw another one or two of her grandparents. She recalled her mom telling her that she died right before Payson was born; Payson was also named after her. She looked closely at her grandmother in one photo. She saw that Sam took after her grandmother more than Mark or her mom. She finally finished looking through the album and looked at the clock. Her mom was going to be up soon. Payson put the album back on the table and went back to her room.

Becca Keeler woke up to footsteps passing her room. By the slow thumps, she guessed it was Payson. She jumped out of bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes before walking towards Payson's room. Inside she saw Payson sitting on the bed, arms wrapped in front of her chest. Becca had finally had enough. All those past few weeks since the accident where she had to be nice about Payson's pity party had driven her up the wall.

"Get over yourself, Payson." Payson turned around, surprised at her sister. "You shouldn't be such a winy baby. Honestly, if Mom hadn't thought it best, she wouldn't have even mentioned it. Here you are being such a little baby. 'Oh, poor me, I broke my back and now I can't do gymnastics when I should be grateful I can even walk at all.' Mom is doing what she thinks will help you."

Payson was shocked at her sister, never had she talked to Payson like that.

"Becca, I…" She started, but Becca left, not wanting to listen to her anymore.

Payson sighed, she knew her mom was doing what she thought best, but she was being taken away from her friends and the gym. The gym was her setting, her environment, and if taken away, she would probably react like a cactus in a waterfall. She would drown in unfamiliarity.

Payson lifted her head, let go of her arms, stood up, and pulled her suitcase from beneath her bed. She packed all her non-gym clothing. After filling her suitcase, she packed her cd's and movies (what few she had), along with her pillow and comforter. She then sat on her bed, hands on lap, waiting for her mom so she could apologize.

Roughly an hour later, there was a knock on her door, "Pay, it's mom can I come in?"

Payson told her yes and Kim opened her daughter's door. She was shocked to see her daughter mostly packed. She was shocked even further when her daughter began apologizing to her and told her that she was ready to go.

"Are you sure Payson? I mean, yesterday, you were completely against this and now you want to go?" Her mom asked her, worriedly.

"Yeah mom, I just realized that I need to get away from here as soon as possible. I was just afraid that I would be around things that are too different." Payson admitted.

"And you aren't afraid now?" Kim wanted to make sure that her daughter wasn't confusing the emotions that she allows herself to feel.

"No, I'm still afraid, but now, I'm addressing the problem." Payson told her.

"Fine, when do you want to go?"

"As soon as I say goodbye to my friends." Payson said, gesturing to her packed bags.

"Fine, sweetie, put your bags in the car and I'll call your aunt and tell her that we're coming a day early."

"Thanks mom." She hugged her mom before grabbing her suitcase and went towards the car.

Kim watched her daughter go. She watched her daughter leave the room with something she had been missing, happiness. She shook her head before calling her baby sister.

an: loved tonight's episode of miobi! next chapter will be the gym scene. please leave me reviews with lots of ideas for how it should go. Should her friends wish her luck, sypathise, or try and make her feel better? next chapter next week


	4. Chapter 4

Payson stepped hesitantly into the gym, her heart growing heavier with each inch. This would be the last time for a long time that she would be here. She would miss being here more than her own home, she knew that.

As she passed through the glass doors, she saw Lauren, Kaylie, and Emily were chatting by the balance beam. Kaylie and Lauren were talking without glares at each other. Payson was glad to see they made at least a ceasefire. She then walked over to her friends.

"Hey guys." Payson greeted.

"Hey Payson, what's up?" Lauren asked. Emily and Kaylie then said similar greetings.

"Actually, I came to say goodbye." Payson admitted.

Three 'What!?'s hit her ears. Every one of the voices loud and full of rage, confusion, and sadness. Each of her friends' faces looked upon her expectantly, waiting to listen to her explanation.

"My mom is ending me to live with my aunt. It's to get me to adjust to not doing gymnastics. I'm going to Colorado Springs." Payson explained.

Lauren had a kicked puppy look on her face, probably from the thought of her plans going up in smoke. While Lauren was her friend, she wouldn't put it past her. Kaylie looked as if she was about to cry and Emily had a thoughtful look on her face, obviously thinking of advice to give Payson, trying to relate to the situation.

"When are you leaving?" Kaylie asked. "Maybe we could throw you a party." Her face brightened at this.

"I don't think so. I'm going after I leave here. I even have my bags in the car." Payson shook her head.

"WHAT!? So soon?" Lauren asked.

Payson nodded her head. She knew it was soon to them, but the last few days since California had been an eternity to her. She knew it was best. She was met by a giant group hug. Her friends were tightly latched on to her for dear life.

Then, Sasha came over with a glare on his face until he saw Payson. His face then had a sympathetic look on his face. She looked away as he came. She felt as if he pitied her. She hated being pitied.

"What's going on?" Sasha asked.

"I came here to say goodbye to everyone. I'm going to go live with my aunt." Payson repeated.

Sasha nodded in acceptance. He was a bit glad to get her away from where her pain is.

"Well, we will all miss you Payson. You are the heart and soul of this gym and without you here, well, you will be missed." Sasha said with a great deal of emotion before hugging her as well.

"Thanks." Payson's muffled reply came.

After the hug, Payson looked over to her mother talking to Summer. They were agreeing about something. Payson gave each of her best friends and Sasha another hug before joining her mom and Summer.

"Hey hon, ready to go?" Kim asked her daughter after talking to Summer about helping out at the Rock.

"Yeah, let's go." Payson said, wanting to go ahead and leave.

"Okay, let me go get my purse and we'll go." Kim then left towards the door. Before Payson could take a step, Summer turned to her. "Payson, I wanted to wish you luck for when you go. I will be praying to God to help you adjust to the changes in your life."

"Thanks, Summer, I appreciate it." Payson said before leaving.

An hour and a half later, Kim pulled up to a small house. It was an ordinary, if not somewhat shabby, house. It looked as if the person that lived there was hardly there. Kim and Payson exited the car and walked up to the house. After knocking, a girl about her age answered.

"Hi, I'm Cassie, you must be Payson and your mother, Kim, right?" The girl said, bubbly.

"Yes, we are. Is Sam home?" Kim answered, looking into the entrance hall for her sister.

"Yeah, Aunt Sam is in the Kitchen making lunch. If you will come this way." Cassie led them through the house into a white, modern kitchen. Standing over the stove was a tall blonde woman, obviously Sam.

"Hey Sam, want me to take over?" Cassie asked, sniffing the air slightly.

"Yeah, save the food while its edible, please." Sam said half-serious. "Hi sis, hi Payson."

"Hi Sam. So is Cassie the girl you mentioned of your friend?" At Sam's nod, Kim continued, "Thanks a lot for doing this."

"No problem. I've wanted to see her more often and this is perfect."

Payson wandered over to Cassie while the adults were talking. "So, how long have you known my aunt?"

"Almost five years. She and her team saved me on a mission and her friend Janet adopted me." Cassie said, stirring the food.

"Wow, so how come you're here and not at school?" Payson asked, remembering the day of the week.

"Sam thought it best if you met someone your own age here. So, here I am." Cassie stopped stirring and twirled around to make her point.

Payson let out a small laugh. She had a feeling she was going to like this girl.


	5. Chapter 5

Payson stepped out of the car and looked up to her new hell- Colorado Springs High School. Cassie gave her squeeze on the shoulder. She probably saw Payson's hatred on her face. She had been showing her emotions like crazy as of late.

"Come on, its not as bad as you first think, believe me." Cassie reassured her, "After you get used to it, you'll wonder why you hated it so much."

"You speak from experience?" Payson inquired.

Cassie nodded but didn't say anything. Instead, she led Payson to the office to sign in and get her schedule for classes.

When they arrived, a beautiful woman with bright, cherry red hair was talking on the phone. After another thirty seconds, the woman noticed the girls standing there. She then waved and mouthed 'one second'. She then hung up the phone and turned to the girls.

"Hi ya Cass and you must be Payson, the new kid." The woman identified them. Payson then noticed a plate on the desk that read 'Miss Hidding'. Payson then nodded to Miss Hidding.

"Well, let me just print out your schedule, map, and locker number and combo." Miss Hidding said while typing away on the computer on her desk. A few seconds later, a stack of papers were handed to Payson. Cassie then said goodbye to 'Glory' and looked at Payson's schedule.

"Cool, we have the majority of our classes together; at least it'll make it easier since you already know someone there." Cassie said, handing the papers back.

"Yeah, easier." Payson muttered. To her, nothing could make the experience that is high school better.

"Come on, we have geometry. Don't worry though, Mrs. Vanhoose is likeable." Cassie then dragged her away into the unknown.

Four hours later, a hungrier, slightly more hateful Payson walked with her tray, looking for an empty table. Finding one, she headed over. At least, she did before she heard Cassie call over to her. While she may have liked Cassie a little from the day she had known her, Payson just wanted to eat alone.

Before Payson could feign not hearing the girl, Cassie was at her side, tugging her to a table with several people. Payson then sat down and was introduced to everyone.

During lunch, Payson kept to the basics: weather, classes, moving, living with Aunt Sam, and the weather. When she got up to dump her tray, she couldn't help but overhear one of Cassie's friends.

"What's her deal? I mean she acted like Ali, totally weird. If she starts talking about torture and misery, I am going to think she is Ali with lipo and extensions." The girl said.

"She's been through a lot lately. Give her a break Kelsey." Cassie defended her. Payson gave a small smile, glad Cassie wasn't spineless to popularity.

"Whatever, all I'm saying is that she's weird." Kelsey said.

Payson was then out of hearing range and dumped her tray before returning to Cassie's table. Instead of sitting down, she grabbed her bag and told Cassie she wanted to check out the library. She then left, but not without hearing Kelsey's snide remark about comparing her to Ali, whoever she was, and her love of books.

Payson walked down the hall to two large wooden doors. She opened them and entered the library, finding a girl reading a paperback novel while eating at the same time. Payson sat her things down and looked at the shelves. Finding nothing that caught her eye, she turned towards a shelf that said 'Local Works'. It included works by her aunt. She grabbed a random book by Sam before sitting down.

"So, science your thing?" A voice asked. Payson turned to find the girl, now working on biology homework, looking at her.

"What do you mean?" Payson was slightly confused.

"You're reading a science book, one that isn't assigned and forced read like most of the books here are, so I figure you must like science." The girl explained, eyes back on her homework, flipping through the pages trying to find an answer to her homework.

"I guess. I don't know, I've never had much time to read."

The girl looked up, "Really? Wow, you must be new here." The comment surprised Payson.

"Why?"

"Because you haven't made fun of me yet. Normally, people have already insulted me. I'm Ali."

"Payson, and yeah, I just moved here from Boulder."

"Cool. Nice to meet someone before they find out my label." Ali then smiled.

"What is your label?"

"Depends who you ask. I'm a geek, freak, hillbilly, witch, bitch, nerd, sociopath, anti-social oddball, or my favorite, loner."

"Huh. How'd you get some of those?" Payson was curious of some of them.

"I'm from Kentucky, hence hillbilly; witch because I often read books about the subject; I'm smart; I act like a bitch most of the time so I can find out who is worth hanging around; finally, I barely have social skills."

"How long did it take for you to get those?"

"About a week, that's how long people take interest in someone new before sorting them into the social system." Ali had a sad look on her face.

"Was it like that in Kentucky?"

"Definitely not. While things were somewhat clique-ey, it wasn't like this. I was friends with half the cheerleaders in my grade. I was friends with punks and preps alike. As long as they were real, they were okay. But here, you have to walk on eggshells and put on an act. I was used to showing a mostly real me, aside from being a bitch of course, but I do that here, and suddenly I'm at the bottom of the rack."

The bell then rang, signaling lunch was over. Ali closed her biology book and smiled at Payson.

"It was nice meeting you Payson."


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next two weeks, Payson reluctantly adjusted to school. She spent free time in the library with Ali. The girl was surprisingly bubbly and a chatterbox when she opened up. She and Payson talked about their former lives, everything they loved, everything they hated, the stupid things they missed. Cassie started avoiding Payson like the plague after hearing about Payson being around Ali. Too bad, she felt that there could have been a great friendship there, but Cassie cared too much about what other people thought.

Life with her aunt was different. Sam had taken a lot of time off, but she was obviously married to her work. Sam was always up late, working on her computer. Mostly, Payson was left to fend for herself. It wasn't too bad, at least she didn't have to hear scolding and/or praise for her attempt a being a normal teen.

Currently, she was talking to Kaylee about the girl's trouble with a move.

"So you're training with Carter?"

"Yeah, he has helped so much since Nicky left."

"Well, just hang in there and work hard. Oh, and call me the minute you land it." Payson then said her goodbye and hung up as Sam came through the door.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?" Sam asked, putting down a thick folder.

"Fine." Payson gave her the usual answer that she would believe. This time, however, Sam looked at her curiously.

"Really? Well, I have got the day off, so how about we go shopping. I noticed you don't have a lot of clothes. Then maybe we could go to dinner. After all, you've been here for the last few weeks and I don't really know much about you." Sam suggested.

Payson gave a small nod, not really caring, but not having anything else to do.

"Great, maybe we can invite Cassie. I mean, you guys have become friends."

"Not really…" Payson mumbled. Clearing her throat, "Can it be just us? I'd really like that."

"Sure." Sam agreed.

Hours later and several hundred dollars spent, Sam and Payson sat at an Italian bistro, eating delicious food that Payson couldn't pronounce.

"So, do you like any of your classes?" Sam asked, unsure how to talk to Payson.

Payson gave a shrug. "Math is alright, same with history and English. I'm doing good in science and suck at Spanish."

"Too bad Daniel isn't here anymore." The comment about Spanish made her think of him. Daniel had ascended a few months before and Jonas, while doing the best to fill in for her dear friend, was no Daniel.

"Who's Daniel?" Payson asked, pulling Sam from her thoughts.

"A friend that died on a mission a couple months back. He knew over thirty languages, Spanish was one of them, I think." Sam scrunched her face slightly, wondering what all the languages he knew were. Now, she would never know.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Tell me more about school, you make any friends?"

"Ali, she's pretty cool." Sam was shocked when Payson didn't continue. Cassie was popular, surely some of her friends would become Payson's friends as well.

"What's she like?"

"Like I said, she's cool. We can relate to each other a lot. She's helping with my Spanish. She's good at remembering things about the language that help on the assignments."

The two continued talking for fifteen more minutes. In that time, Payson refused to talk about any more school and switched the conversation to her physical therapy.

"It's going well. In another couple months, I'll be able to get rid of the back brace permanently." Payson told Sam, slightly excited. It was one of the main things people made fun of her for.

Sam thought this to be the perfect time to tell Payson her news. While Payson was staying with her, Sam had contacted the Asgard to see if they could fix Payson's back. Thor assured her that they could. She had been busy trying to get Payson the proper clearance for it to happen.

"Speaking of your back, I wanted to ask you something. You know how I do a lot of classified work?" At Payson's nod, she continued, "Well, the medical area of my project has developed some new surgical techniques. After getting you the proper clearance, I can have your back fixed." Sam hated lying, but it was the only way she could tell Payson, at least, until the non-disclosure forms were signed.

Payson was floored. A way to fix her back? That was almost enough to make her faint then and there.

"How?" was all she could get out.

"Classified, but the necessary clearance is almost approved and then you'll need to sign some paperwork, but then you'll be better than before." Sam smiled at the girl across from her.

"So I'll be able to do gymnastics again?" Payson hugged her aunt.

Throughout the rest of the meal, a true smile, one she hadn't worn in a very long time, never left her face.

I know its kinda soon to be having her back fixed, but its how I'm planning the story. Please review, I miss hearing from you guys.


	7. Chapter 7

A week later, Payson walked through the check-ins at the Cheyenne Mountain Underground Base. She slipped her fingers into her pants pocket and touched the free verse poem Ali wrote for her. Ali loved writing free verse poems and made one for Payson about the feelings she would probably feel if the surgery works.

Thinking of the words on the paper, she took a deep breath and moved on past the check-in and went to the elevator. While going down several floors, her aunt looked over to her and squeezed her shoulder in an attempt of comfort. Payson gave a small smile to her aunt in return. They then stepped off the elevator and went to another check-in. Apparently, this one separated NORAD from Sam's project.

Several hours and much more poem grabbing later, Payson had just finished signing the non-disclosure forms, which basically said "You cannot talk to anyone about what goes on here," in five hundred different ways. Sam was talking to a bald, portly man she vaguely remembered as her mother's godfather, George Hammond, she was slightly glad she was very good with names.

The man then introduced himself as the general that ran the project. Payson then reintroduced herself to him. From there, she was given a thick folder that gave what her aunt called a 'basic overview' of the project. She then began to read the novel-sized folder. It talked about some Egyptian archaeological dig from the 1920's. As she read on, she read the relevancy of it, the Stargate, the discovery by Dr. Daniel Jackson, the first mission, the Goa'uld, and the other alien races that had previously come into contact with.

After she finished reading, Payson looked up at her aunt "Is this for real?"

"Completely, I know it can be a bit overwhelming and sounds like a cheesy sci-fi book, but it is perfectly real." Sam confirmed.

Payson just looked back at the folder. God, she had never even given thought to the stars, and now to find out aliens are real. It was huge, no wonder her aunt had her sign all those forms.

"So, can I meet an alien?" Payson blurted out before she could stop herself. While she believed what she read, she also needed concrete proof. Sam nodded and stood up and told Payson to follow her. Payson did so, until they had reached a gym. This gym had a lot of fighting equipment, including a sparring area where a man with salt and pepper hair and a large, bald, muscled black man were sparring. It was obvious that the first man was losing, but he was putting all he had in it. Eventually, the second man had won the fight. Both men then turned to see their only audience- Sam and her.

"Hey Carter, what's with the mini? You get yourself a shadow?" The man that lost greeted them with a slight Minnesota accent. Payson hadn't heard an accent like that since she moved to Colorado.

"Sir, this is my niece. I brought her here to meet Teal'c." Sam told the man. She then turned to the other man. "Teal'c, this is my niece, Payson Keeler, Payson, this is Teal'c. He's a Jaffa, like the ones you read about in the file."

Teal'c gave her a slight nod and greeted her, "Greetings PaysonKeeler, Major Carter has informed us a great deal on you."

"Nice to meet you to, though, you don't look that much like an alien, just a guy who has obviously been working out." Payson said.

Teal'c then lifted his shirt and showed her his pouch, "I am used to hearing such among new workers here. Inside this pouch is my goa'uld larvae, it is what gives me my strength."

"Wow." was all Payson could get out. The idea of doing something like that was so freaky to her.

"Indeed."

"So Carter, we were just gonna grab some lunch, you wanna join?" The man with salt and pepper hair asked.

"No thanks sir, we already ate. I'm just going to take Payson to my lab until the Asgard get here." Sam replied.

With that, Sam led Payson down a maze of hallways until they reached a lab. Inside it were a lot of odd looking devices that Payson had no clue what they were. Sam just started working on one that was on a center table. She was soon wrapped up in her experiment, leaving Payson alone to do whatever. Payson just snuck out of the room, hoping to find something to do. Ever since she got Nicky to get her some Cortisone, she had been less obeying of the rules. Besides, Sam hadn't said for her to stay in the lab. Soon, Payson came across a room filled with what looked like an archaeologist's dream. There was an overflow coming from everywhere of books, old tablets, weapons, and pottery. She was snapped back to reality when the salt and pepper haired man from earlier closed the door.

"You know kid, ya might wanna look out for others when you're standing in the middle of the doorway."

"Sorry sir." Payson apologized, not sure what to call him.

"Aack, no 'sirs', please, just Jack."

"Sorry then, Jack, I was just looking for something to do because Sam got wrapped up in her experiments." Payson winced at how childish her excuse sounded.

"No worries kid, she does that all the time." Jack flashed a grin at her. "Anyway, I wanna tell you that the Asgard are here, you need to go to back to the debriefing room, I'll escort you."

Jack led her down more hallways than her brain could process. Before long, Payson was back in the room she had read the file in. Sam was there and it looked exactly the same as when they left, only there was a stereotypical grey Roswell alien sitting in a grand chair at the end of the table.

"Hello" the alien greeted her, "I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. We will be boarding the current ship in orbit, the _O'Neill II _where we will be able to surgically repair your spinal cord."

"Hi, I'm Payson, and I can't thank you enough for this." Payson returned the greeting. Within the next few seconds, she felt as though she was being lifted up and then she was in a new room. This one was large with a table in the center and a window showing Earth. Payson looked on with wide eyes before Thor asked her to lie on the table on her stomach. She followed directions after removing her back brace. Payson then felt her world go dark as she prepared herself for the future.

Sorry for not putting this on last night, but my computer decided to screw me over and delete all my documents. I had to retype this. Hope it was worth the wait.


	8. Chapter 8

Payson stopped to take a long sip of water. She had her surgery two days before and was currently conditioning. She hadn't started on gymnastics yet because Sam thought it best for her to work her way up to it, even if Thor assured her she could start right away.

She closed her bottle and began the run back to the house. She quickly reached the house when she heard yelling, specifically, her mom's yelling. She slowed as she reached the house, she hadn't talked to her mom since she was left in Colorado Springs nearly a month before. She quietly entered the house, following the yelling voices to the living room.

Her mother was standing, arms flailing around to express her anger. Of what, she didn't know. She listened to them yelling, neither noticing the new addition to the room. They were arguing over her, about her back. At that moment, she cleared her throat. Both women snapped their heads toward her.

"Payson…" Her mother gasped, tears springing in her eyes. She made her way over, grabbing Payson's shoulders and looked over her before pulling her into a tight hug, something she hadn't had since the accident. After the hug finally ended, Payson realized that her mom being in the Springs meant something big.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Payson asked worriedly, thinking something happened to her dad or Becca.

"I came here to tell you about a new surgery that was developed that could help fix your back, only to find out it wasn't needed." She glared at Sam before returning her sight to her daughter. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad your back is fixed, but I wasn't even informed of the decision."

"Sorry mom, but I was worried about how you would react." Payson explained.

"I see. Well, in that case, could I stay for dinner, so we could catch up?" Kim asked, wanting to find out how her eldest was doing.

"Sure, as long as it's all right with Sam." Payson glanced over to her aunt, hoping to spend time with her mom.

"It's all right. Actually I need to get to work soon. How about you guys go out to eat on me? As long as you don't get anything too expensive, I'm still hurting slightly from our shopping trip." Sam stated.

"That'd be great, Can you say hi to Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill from me?" Payson asked, remembering them from her trip to the mountain.

"Sure, though the Colonel is away at the Antarctica base. It'll be a while before I see him again." Sam said, slightly wistful.

Payson rolled her eyes; it was so obvious she was in love with the man. After Sam left, Kim went with Payson to her new room. It was covered with multiple posters that Sam had probably put up. The bedspread was the same one Payson slept with in Boulder, there was a desk with a computer and a few textbooks on it, a small bookcase next to it, and a television on the other side. It looked like a typical teenager's room, Kim was happy to see her daughter becoming her age.

"Let me get changed into some real clothes." Payson went to the closet and pulled out a green blouse and dark wash jeans. She quickly changed into the outfit in the bathroom next door. Right as they were leaving, Payson's cell phone went off. The phone let off a song from Sweeney Todd, signaling Ali was calling; the girl was obsessed with the musical. She answered the phone, consoling Ali for a few minutes, then hanging up. At her mother's questioning glance, Payson told her about Ali, her only friend and the argument she had with her family, which was a common occurrence for Ali.

"Wow, you're dealing with and handling teenager problems. That's fantastic." Kim said, happy her daughter was handling everything.

"Yeah, though I definitely can't wait until I can compete again. I should be able to start practicing again soon. Then, Sam said that she'd get me tutors and be homeschooled again." Payson beamed.

"Are you sure you want to get back into that, I thought you were doing okay now?"

"Yeah, but mom, you know I'd give anything to do gymnastics again and I have the chance to. I'm going to do this." Payson said fiercely.

"I understand. I was just hoping that a taste of real teen life might change your mind. Guess I should have known that you'd be stubborn. Now, come on, let's go eat." Kim took her daughter to the car and drove off.

Meanwhile, Sam was on her way to the mountain to work. True, she didn't need to come in at this time, but she knew Payson needed time with her mother and, besides, she was getting behind on some of her experiments.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder how much Payson was going to tell her mother. Would she tell her about her school life? Her home life? Her surgery? Maybe she would mention the return to gymnastics they were working on. So far, Sam had pulled some favors to get the majority of Payson's tutors, but she still had trouble finding her a science tutor. Maybe she could be her tutor? After all, Payson was doing her best in science and math, and she often understood Sam when she started talking about a theory, even if Sam still had to simplify a few terms for her.

After arriving to the mountain, Sam went down to her lab after being updated on the Ancient found in stasis in Antarctica.

So, Payson saw her mother here. Soon, the story will have more of the science/action that is found in stargate. Also, I will keep updating on time every week, despite the season being over. Please review more. As much as I enjoy story alerts and favorite story additions, I need a response and feedback on occasion. How else will I know if the story is good or not?


	9. Chapter 9

Over the next week, Sam was silently mourning. Jack had joined the Tok'ra a few days before and Sam felt a pain in her chest whenever she thought about him, which was often. So, she put as much of her thoughts into her work and setting Payson's schooling needs up as much as possible. With the way she had it set up, Payson would start early in the mornings at the base, in gym set up for gymnastics, at five-thirty every morning until ten; then, she would work on school work with her tutors for two hours, with two different tutors each day. After that, she would work for another five hours at the gym, before returning home to take care of the house if Sam wasn't there, or help make dinner if Sam was home. After that, Payson would have the rest of the night off. The plan was simple enough in design, and Payson would have no trouble following it.

Payson was glad to be getting a sense of normality again, even if it wasn't the Rock, and she was going to be mostly on her own. Ali had been as supportive for Payson as she could be, but Payson could tell she was upset. Ali had told her about her past, of being bullied and having trust issues and how Payson was one of only three best friends she had ever had (Including one that had abandoned her before.) Payson made sure to reassure Ali that they could still hang out and be friends.

Payson took to her schedule like a fish to water. She woke every morning and ran to the base, starting slowly on her gymnastics. She mainly worked on the beam, it and the floor being the safest, in her opinion. She still couldn't go back to the uneven bars. She had attempted once and was reminded of her accident. She shied away, wanting to not damage her back again. Her tutors came in and gave her a thorough, yet rapid course. They taught her at an accelerated rate, especially Sam, after Payson mentioned that she would love to work at the mountain after going to the Olympics. So Sam was helping her learn enough to finish high school a year early.

Payson mostly liked what her aunt taught her. Science was always her best subject, but with Sam teaching, she flourished. She was also doing extremely well in English, thanks to Ali and her never-ending recommendation of books. She had a collection that could rival a small library and always had books Payson liked, especially Unleashed by Kristopher Reisz. The book was about becoming yourself instead of the image society placed you in. It fit her friend perfectly.

Soon, two weeks had passed when Sam cancelled her practice and told her to pack. Sam surprised her by taking her to Boulder for the weekend.

Payson walked into the Rock an hour after going to see her mom with her head held high. She had changed slightly since she was last at the Rock, both physically and emotionally. It felt odd for her to be back in the place that she once considered more of a home than her own, but, at the same time, she was also glad. She had left angry, confused, upset, and resigned to what she thought was her fate. She now came with happiness, contentment, and clarity. She now knew there was more than just gymnastics in the world, and it wasn't going to be her complete life anymore. She had plans for what she was going to do after and she had a connection outside of the gym.

Her friends spotted her immediately. Kaylee was on the bars, jumping off when she saw Payson, Lauren doing the same at the beam, and Emily at the vault. Sasha came over as well. After her three best friends hugged her, Sasha gave her a questioning gaze, as if wondering if it was really her. Payson smiled, walked over to the vault, and did a simple handstand, one of the first things she relearned. After her perfect landing, clapping and applause came from all around, the other gymnasts happy to see their idol back to doing her dream.

Sasha gave her a hug and told her he was proud of her. Her friends then came back and surrounded her asking various questions over what had happened since she left.

"So the National Team is actually going without you guys to China. But that's insane, Kaylee, you're the National Champion. You being there is an absolute must." Payson said, shocked by the news.

"I know, at least Lauren gets to go, though. I still can't believe you cut your hair." Kaylee stated. Payson ran her fingers through her hair automatically. She had gotten it cut in the same style her aunt had. Every morning, the security guards at the base joked about letting 'Mini-Carter' in. She found it easier to control than her longer hairstyle, so she put up with the jokes.

"What can I say, besides, it's easier to handle." As Payson spent the next few hours at the gym, helping her friends correct their moves, talking, catching up, and joking around, she realized that what she was doing made her feel slightly more empty inside. Perhaps she had changed more than she thought.

Eventually, Sam came by to pick her and Becca up. As they rode back to the house, Payson couldn't help but feel a pang of homesickness for Colorado Springs, Sam's house, and the Cheyenne Mountain.


	10. Chapter 10

Payson watched the meet in China with reverence. Despite the strong start America, they fell behind China quickly. She almost called Lauren after the beam scores were revealed. She stopped when Ali reminded her Sam would freak. Lauren managed to place, but barely. Her nervousness shined through and hurt her score hugely. If not for the fact that Payson had seen Lauren do the routine a thousand times before, she would have thought she was there by mistake. Kaylee mentioned Lauren feeling sick before leaving. Perhaps she should have mentioned it to Sasha.

Suddenly, Payson's phone rang, knocking Payson out of her thoughts. She answered it to find Kaylee on the other end.

"Hey Payson, I managed to get a free minute from training. Are you watching the meet in China?" Kaylie's voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, U.S. is drowning. Lauren placed, but barely. No way will they win." Payson answered, happy to share the news. This was going to lead China to the Rock for sure.

"Great, I better go tell the others. By the way, when are you coming back?" Kaylee asked.

Payson sighed, the thing was, she wasn't sure she wanted to go back to the Rock, at least not yet. "I don't know for sure just yet. I will be back to see the meet though."

"All right, when you're ready, we'll be waiting." Kaylie said before they exchanged goodbyes.

"So, that was one of your friends from before?" Ali asked, not taking her eyes off the television as Kelley Parker did her uneven bars routine, landing with a slight tremble. It was noticeable enough, though, that the judges would deduct points.

"Yeah, that was Kaylee, she's the National Champion." Payson informed Ali.

"I still don't get the politics behind gymnastics. I mean, she won gold before, shouldn't she be there?" Ali, while cynical, was sometimes naïve, possibly from living an odd childhood. She was bullied as a child and did not understand how people thought the way they did. Probably why she was so interested in becoming a neuropsychologist.

"Simple, she pissed them off, she wasn't chosen." Payson had been influenced by Ali and occasionally said something she normally wouldn't, such as the crude way she phrased things just now.

"Sounds like a bummer, and the Rock is having a meet with China to prove their gymnasts should have been chosen? Okay, I understand now." Ali smiled, happy to have it click in her mind, probably referring it to something she read about in some article.

Payson returned the smile and returned to the competition.

After the competition ended, Payson ran to the mountain and decided to do same work in the gym. On her way down, she bumped into Jonas Quinn. She met him shortly after the surgery and clicked with him. He tutored her in Spanish, which was one of her worse subjects. He was pretty good with languages and was teaching her Ancient and Goa'uld. Understanding Ancient also helped her Spanish because it was derived from Latin, which was derived from Ancient.

"Sorry Pay, wasn't paying attention." Jonas apologized.

"It's all right, where you headed?"

"Office, I've got some translating I need to do. SG-5 brought back some tablets in an obscure dialect of Goa'uld that is gonna take some time to translate."

"See you later." Payson then left in the direction of the gym. Once she got there, she went to the bars, more determined than before to get past her fear. She remembered what Sasha told her when she visited. '_Fear can be crippling to a gymnast more than anything.'_

Of course, he was asking her to help Emily, but it could still be applied to her. Fear was stopping her. She took a deep breath and grabbed the bar, doing a simple routine. After she ended it, she felt a rush of pride. It felt like she could take on the world. She then grabbed the bars again and did a slightly more complicated routine. After that ended, she did another routine and another and another and another, each getting more complicated as time passed.

By the time she was exhausted, she just lied on the mat, smiling so big, the smile started to hurt, but she couldn't stop. While she was nowhere near her old level, she conquered her biggest fear and did it beautifully and with no problems. She let out a huge laugh that matched her smile. She couldn't stop, she was swimming in a wave of happiness, relief, and adrenaline coursing through her veins.

She eventually stopped, got up, and began her walk home.

Sam waited until Payson left the room before leaving her spot behind the bleachers. She came in to see if Payson was interested in going out for dinner, but quickly saw the girl was wrapped up in her practice. After she finished practicing, Payson had lied down, smiled, and laughed a full-belly laugh. Sam understood then what had happened. When Sam's mother died, she refused to get in a car, afraid of being hit. Eventually, Mark had forced her into driving. Sam had reacted the same way as Payson after she got out of the car.

She waited a little longer until Payson left, then she felt the need to surprise Payson with a reward for doing what she did. She went up, clocked out, and went to the mall to get a gift for Payson.

That night, Payson ate dinner with Sam, a simple stir-fry, and they watched a sci-fi movie together, laughing at the absurdity of it plot and 'aliens'. After it was over, Sam went to the kitchen, calling in Payson shortly after. She had a gift-wrapped package in her hands. Payson looked up questioningly before opening the gift. It was a simple gold chain with a 'P' that dipped to the breastbone with a curve. It was exquisite.

"Wow, it's beautiful. What's the occasion?" Payson was curious, she hadn't any idea what she did to deserve something like the necklace.

"I saw you earlier, at the mountain. You faced your fear today. I went through something similar before. It's never easy, but you did it on your own. I couldn't have done that myself." Sam explained.

Payson just put the necklace on and hugged her aunt as tightly as she could, with a small tear running down her cheek.


	11. Chapter 11

Payson chewed the burger that was given to her straight off the grill, while tugging at her jacket as the cold air nipped at her. She really didn't understand why Jack insisted on having a barbeque for his welcome back party, but she was just glad that he was back. Sam had been glowing since the rescue mission occurred. Sam mentioned that not only did they rescue Jack, but they also eliminated one of the Goa'uld as well.

Payson wasn't oblivious to her aunt's issues; she was just wrapped up in her own. She was glad that her aunt had her Jack back. Now, if only Sam would just go for it. The two had known each other for _years_.

A tap on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts. She turned to find Cassie. Surprised was the bare minimum of how she felt. She hadn't even talked to Cassie since the first day of her short-lived school life.

"Can I help you with something?" Payson asked Cassie with a slight edge in her tone.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened to you on the first day of school. I should have stuck up for you." Cassie babbled quickly. Payson looked at her eyes, seeing genuine emotion.

"Apology accepted." Payson said crisply. Just because she accepted the apology, it didn't mean she would welcome Cassie with open arms.

"So, I was thinking that we could hang out on Monday, after school." Cassie stated with hopeful eyes.

"Actually, I'm going to be in Boulder, helping the Rock gymnasts prepare for the meet in China. Then I'll be gone for two weeks." Payson said neutrally. While it was the truth, it was also a test to see if Cassie was willing to really try to be her friend.

"Oh, all right. Well, maybe you could hang out with me and Kelsey when you get back?" Cassie asked hopefully.

"Maybe." Payson said noncommittally. Cassie smiled and left. Payson then looked around.

The next day, Payson was on her way to the Rock's lockdown. Jack was driving her. He volunteered, muttering something about freedom and snakes. So far, he had been good company.

They talked about what had been happening since her surgery. While she went to the gym every day and her aunt would tell her about her latest mission, it paled in comparison to the way Jack told her stories of missions. He told her in a way that made her feel as if she was right there with SG-1. She remarked that he should write a book. He told her if he wrote about even a fraction of the things he had done, he would be killed before the words hot the paper. She could tell, despite the joking tone, he was serious.

When they arrived at the Rock, Payson saw all her friends waiting for her. As she got out, Lauren, Kaylie, and Emily walked over to greet her. She was met with a group hug while Jack chuckled and grabbed her bag out of the bed of the truck.

"Thank you sir."She said, imitating her aunt, when Jack handed her bag to her.

"Don't be a smart-ass kid." Jack scowled.

"Sure thing Jack."

"I'll see ya in a couple weeks." Jack said goodbye, receiving a small hug from the Colonel.

"Bye Jack." Payson called as the truck left.

"So, how are you, Payson?" Kaylie asked as they walked in.

"I'm doing good. At the rate I'm going, I'll be back to my old level in no time."

The next two weeks passed by quickly, and the meet was approaching. The day of the meet, Payson dressed in the uniform of the gymnasts and she went to the Rock and practiced before the reporters showed up. Emily was already at the gym, practicing her move before tanking the landing.

"Emily, hey." Payson called to her.

"Hey Payson, what are you doing here early?"

"Came to practice. I'm used to training earlier, rather than normal. You?"

"Wanted to land this move. Every time I get close, I just…"

"Freeze?" Payson supplied.

"Yeah, I keep thinking about how I don't belong here and it stops me."

"It's fear, it's crippling you like my back injury did to me. Even after I was cleared to do gymnastics again. I waited to do gymnastics and I only recently started back on the uneven bars." Payson explained. "Also, I've seen what people have written about you, about how you don't belong, how you are pulling the sympathy vote, how you are the charity case that is only here to make the Rock look good. Well, tell me, are they right?"

"No." Emily denied.

"Then show them that you deserve this; that you deserve to be here. Show me, right now." Payson demanded.

Emily then did the move flawlessly. Payson watched with an approving eye.

"You do that today and you'll have the gold. Now, come on, I think I hear reporters outside."

Meanwhile, Sam was riding in her car with Teal'c and Jonas and Jack to Boulder to see the meet. She planned on surprising Payson by showing up. She also thought about the mission they had just finished, having to deal with Jonas's homeworld. It must have been painful for Jonas to see his dear friend being schizophrenic. Sam gripped the wheel, pushing the thought out of her head. She did not need to think about sad things like that when on her way to cheer her niece's team on. She just shook her head and drove past an exit.


	12. Chapter 12

Payson stood, watching as the meet went on. She, herself, wasn't performing. She wasn't ready yet, but she had a feeling she would soon. So far, China had been dominating, but her team was holding their own. At the rate they were going, they were going to get more medals than the National Team. She watched as Emily did her routine on the vault flawlessly. She whooped when Emily landed without even a stumble.

She looked at the score board and saw that Emily was now in second. That just made her clap harder. As she watched the meet progress, she watched her friends perform incredibly. She was slightly worried; Kaylie was almost a no-show and only showed up at the last minute. While she had tried to keep up-to-date with everything, she was still pretty out of the loop.

She had her thoughts interrupted with the thirteen-year-old Chinese gymnast, Genjo Cho, on the uneven bars, doing a perfect performance. She still couldn't believe how young and talented the girl was. She was definitely going to be remembered. She was what Payson had dreamed of being for years.

After the performance, Lauren did her performance on the beam. It was amazing, but it cost her. Lauren sprained her ankle and wasn't going to be able to do the bars routine she planned. Now, Sasha was asking her to perform.

"But, I've only been back at gymnastics for a short time, and I'm still nowhere near my old level." Payson said, not knowing if she could do it.

At that moment, she caught a glimpse of similar colored blond hair. Her Aunt Sam was in the audience with the entire team and her parents. Sam's eyes caught hers and the older women gestured to her neck. Payson touched her own, where the necklace sat. She then thought of her aunt's words and turned to Sasha.

"Okay, I'll do it, but could you please hold this?" Payson removed the necklace and handed her to the coach. He nodded and she walked over to the chalk bowl, rubbed some on her hands and proceeded to the bars. She started simple, but quickly went all out. She pulled the moves she had down perfectly and even a few she had only began thinking of working on. She did her routine beautifully and clean. When she landed, the crowd went crazy. Many were screaming for more. Payson smiled and walked back over to the team.

"That was amazing."

"You were incredible."

"You've never done better."

"I thought you said you weren't even close to your old level."

The last was from Sasha. Payson merely said, "I guess I'm closer than I thought." And asked for her necklace back before fastening it back into place.

She was surprised by more cheering happening and looked around before seeing the scoreboard. She had placed third. That was amazing, she wasn't even expecting to place.

Kaylie then went on and won silver on the beam, edging out Lauren. They had now not only five, but six medals. That beat the National Team by two medals.

After the medal ceremony, Payson was talked into giving an interview.

"It felt amazing to be performing again in competition. I couldn't have done this without all the support I received. I have to thank my parents, my team, my aunt Major Dr. Sam Carter, her team, and my friend Ali back in the Springs. Ali, if you're watching, thanks. And I can't wait to win more meets and I hope to be preparing for the Olympics soon. Thank you." Payson said, smiling at the camera.

Just then, she was pulled into a hug by her aunt and mother. They squeezed tight. When she was finally released, she pulled them both back into a hug.

"Honey, you were amazing. You had never been more beautiful." Kim stated, a tear in her eye.

"You did great, Pay." Sam complimented.

"Well, let's get to the Shack for the party." Kim ordered, "Let me just find your sister and we'll go."

After Kim left, Genjo Cho approached her.

"Payson?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to say that you did wonderfully. I don't know if I could have done that after an accident like the one you had. I look forward to competing with you at the Olympics." Genjo said in accented, slightly broken English.

"Thank you, I look forward to it too. And if it wasn't for my family," At this, Payson had her aunt's arm slung around her shoulders, "I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"It was nice meeting you. I must go now." Genjo then left and the two blondes made their way to Kim's car.

After Payson was strapped in next to Becca, Sam left to follow them in her car.

Once at the Pizza Shack, Payson mingled with her friends, talking about each other's performance and comparing medals. At least, until Emily's boyfriend was on the radio. At that point, Emily and Kaylie left to go to the station. Lauren then filled her in on all the relationship details of the girls' lives.

Once filled in, Payson was surprised about some of the things going on, such as Emily's mother and Lauren's father dating. Another was the arrangement Lauren set up with Carter. When Payson questioned Lauren's motives, Lauren told her that she was just being nice and trying to do the right thing after screwing everything over so badly.

When finished talking to her friend, Payson was confronted by Sasha, asking if she would return for good. She told him she'd consider it. She then tracked down Sam and her mother and told them of the idea of returning permanently. Kim thought it was a good idea and Sam reluctantly agreed, stating she could only go so far on her own at the base.

As they planned the next few days, Sam hid the feelings of sadness that the idea of the girl she had quickly gotten close to leaving brought. She just smiled and helped plan.


	13. Chapter 13

Samantha Carter was working on a project deep under the Cheyenne Mountain. The project, itself, looked alien, probably because it was. It was some kind of weapon brought back from a mission SG-8 recently went on. So far, Sam had little luck with finding out what it was. She was about to try something new when she heard an alarm clock buzzer go off. She just sighed wearily before turning it off. It had been two days since Payson moved out and Sam hadn't been home since. She kept chastising herself for looking up and expecting to see Payson there for their physics lesson or to drag her to lunch.

Sam had quickly grown to think of Payson as a daughter, like Cassie. But, Payson wasn't hers, she was Kim's. _Who dumped her on me when things got tough,_ Sam thought bitterly. She quickly banished the thought. Kim did what she thought was best and now that Payson was healed she could stay at home. Sam knew it was bad when Payson went to the lockdown, but the fact that she wasn't coming back felt like a knife in the gut.

"You okay, Carter?" Her CO surprised her out of her thoughts.

"Fine, sir." She said automatically.

"You've been here two days straight. We don't have a mission anytime soon, so go home and get some shut-eye."

"I don't know, sir. I don't want-"

"To go home to an empty house. I know the feeling."Jack finished for her. Sam instantly knew he was talking about Charlie, his son. Even after all this time, she knew the subject was still hurtful for him.

"How did you get through it?" Sam honestly wanted to know. If he could get through his son's death, then she could get through her niece's leaving.

"I threw myself into work and refused to think about him. Then, when that mission when that alien took his form, it gave me some clarity." Jack admitted, "It made me realize that he was really dead, but that didn't mean I had to stop living."

"So, I should go see how she's happy there?" Sam theorized.

"Exactly. Go talk to Hammond and get on the highway to Boulder." Jack said as he walked off, probably to bug Jonas or Teal'c.

She did as told and was in Boulder a little over an hour and a half later at the Rock.

She walked inside and walked over to an area that she could see the gymnasts but they wouldn't notice her. After searching for a moment, her eyes landed on Payson. She saw that Payson was talking to two of her friends. More importantly, she was smiling, she was happy here. Sam quickly left, not wanting to stay any longer, afraid she would end up running over to give the girl a hug.

Sam sped off in her car, heading home to an empty house.

Meanwhile, Payson had just finished talking with Emily and Lauren. She felt so disconnected in the conversation. She was regretting coming back. Everything was so different, but she knew it wasn't everything, it was her. She was different. Her mother had a wide-eyed look the night before when she saw that Payson was reading an advanced physics book beyond even most college students' levels. She had found it challenging but still understandable. She had to tell a very censored version of her life in the time she was in Colorado Springs and it made her feel restricted. While her friends were all caught up in their own drama, Payson felt like she was in the middle of the story with no knowledge of anything before.

She shook her head and left her friends to work on the uneven bars, clutching her necklace and jumped. She was working on raising her level. Ever since the meet, she was stuck. She kept wishing she was back under the mountain, in the gym. She knew it was pointless. Boulder was her home, where her mother was, her sister, her friends. _But you were happier than you have been in a long time in Colorado Springs,_ a tiny voice in the back of her head whispered. She ignored it, ending her routine mechanically and went to change, grab her bag, and go home, noticing practice was over for the day.

As she waited on her sister and mother, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing her aunt. As she got in the car, she couldn't help but wonder what her aunt was doing and whether she was missing her.

That night, Payson completed her homework in no time, called Ali, chatted for half an hour, washed her laundry, went on a mile-long jog, ate dinner, and went to bed. She couldn't fall asleep though. She tossed and turned for roughly an hour before giving up and getting out of bed.

She went down to the living room and turned on the TV. She changed the channel until it landed on an incredibly old sci-fi movie about aliens. She watched the extremely fake special effects with a giggle, thinking about how they were once considered the coolest thing ever. The movie was about Martians coming to Earth to eat human beings' brains. It was so ridiculous, it was hilarious. By the end, she held a full-chested laugh in, not wanting to wake her family. Then, a tear slid down her face as she thought about how Sam and her would watch movies like that and laugh at how far from the truth they were.

Hell, she missed her aunt, the team, the mountain, the nickname 'mini-Carter', Ali, everything that made it her home. There, she admitted it. Colorado Springs was her home now. She wanted to be there. _But what about your Olympic dreams? _A voice in her head, sounding like Sasha's, asked. She thought about it, did she even want it anymore? She didn't know. Now that she had lived another life, she had her eyes opened. She had been exposed to something much more important than gymnastics, something few people could even dream of.

She knew in that instant what she wanted. She was about to get up to go prepare, when she heard her mom.

"Payson, sweetie, what are you doing up?"

"Mom, can we talk?"


	14. Chapter 14

Kim Keeler looked at her daughter in surprise. For the past few days, she had noticed Payson was acting different, but she had hoped to become close to her eldest daughter again. Instead, Payson had been distant, careful around everyone when she was talking about what had happened while she was away, and more _human_ (as in, more like a teenage girl should be like).

"What is it, Pay?" Kim asked her daughter as she sat down next to her on the couch.

"I wish I could go back. I've changed since I last lived here. I… I feel like when I left, the gymnast stayed here and is completely different than I am now. Don't get me wrong, I still love gymnastics, but, I don't know if I still want to be an Olympic gymnast anymore." Payson babbled quickly, a habit she picked up from Ali.

Kim looked at Payson, shell-shocked. She knew her daughter had changed, but to not want to be what she had dreamed of being since she was seven, it showed just how huge of a change it was.

"Are-are you sure?" Kim managed to get out, having a hard time forming thoughts.

Payson nodded, "Mom, I was happy there. I found my purpose there; it's beyond what I used to think was my world. I want to live with Aunt Sam again. I understand if I can't, but I want to."

"I'll talk to your aunt in the morning, in the meantime, go get some sleep. You have a big morning at the gym coming up." Kim reminded her daughter.

After the meet with China, Sasha had been working them harder than before. He wanted them all prepared for the next national team practice, even those not on the team, apparently. He mainly was working with Emily (who was still having emotional troubles over her boyfriend leaving) and Lauren (who was up to something).

The next morning quickly came and Payson went to the Rock, anxious for the answer of whether she could go back to, what she now thought of as, home. She did her best, but her mind was elsewhere the majority of the time.

Meanwhile, Kim was at home after dropping Payson and Becca off. She was sitting on the couch, phone in her hand, staring at it. She was about to press the first button in calling her sister, but she stopped, involuntarily. She didn't want to do this, but Payson looked so _happy_ when told she would call Sam. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and dialed quickly, so she wouldn't stop herself mid-dial.

She hated what she was doing. If she did this, her Payson would be gone forever, the one who wanted to be an Olympic gymnast, the one she had to teach to be girly at the fashion show, the one who set up a presentation with graphs to show why moving to Boulder would be beneficial to her career, the one who thought she had nothing for her outside of gymnastics.

She then wished she had ignored her husband all those weeks ago when he convinced her to send Payson away. If she had ignored him, Payson wouldn't want to be away, she would want to stay with her family. But then she wouldn't be happy at all.

Kim's thoughts were interrupted when a teenage girl answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello. Sorry, I think I have the wrong number. I was trying to call Samantha Carter."

"No, this is the right number, hold on a moment." The girl stated before yelling "SAM, SOMEONE'S ON THE PHONE."

After hearing a muffled sound, the girl said, "Hold on a minute, she's coming downstairs right now."

A few minutes later, her sister answered.

"Hi Sam, its Kim."

"Kim? What's going on? Is Payson alright?" Sam had quickly switched into panic mode.

"No, no, nothing like that. Actually, I wanted to ask you something; it has to do with Payson." After a moment's pause, she continued, "Ever since she's been back, she's been different. I was just going to bide the time and hope she would get back to her old life, but, last night, she asked to talk to me. She wants to come back. She-she looked so happy at the idea of going back. I was wondering, would it be okay of she went back to stay with you, until college, that is."

Kim waited for a minute, then two. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called."

She was about to press the end call button when a loud "WAIT!" came out of the phone.

Kim put the phone back to her ear. "Kim, I'd love to have Payson back. Please, let me know when she's packed and I'll come and get her. I'm sorry I didn't answer right away, but I thought she was happy there. You kind of threw me for a loop."

"She'll be getting home in a few hours, so she might be ready to go tomorrow morning." Kim informed her younger sister.

Kim hung up, put the phone down, and cried. She cried, not knowing why. Her daughter would be happy. Maybe that was why. Not because she would be happy, but because of where she would be happy at.

Kim wiped away her tears, only to have a fresh batch spring up. She wiped those away as well. She had to be strong for her daughters, like she was when they moved from Minnesota, when Becca and Mark were in the car accident five years before, when they started having financial troubles, when Mark lost his job, when he had to leave to work, when Payson was injured, and now, the leaving of her oldest, for good.

No matter what happened, Kim had to stay strong, just like she always had, just like she had been doing since the passing of her own mother, just like she always did to keep from crashing and burning miserably to the point of no return.

AN: an inside look to Kim's life. Only one more chapter and then I might do a sequal if I get enough feedback and encouragemant. It would also be updated more often too. Review if you want me to.


	15. Chapter 15

The past few weeks had been a whirlwind for Payson. After moving back in with her aunt, she quickly settled into her old routine. But, it was somehow different, better. She had found her place, what she wanted to do for the rest of her life and what she was willing to do for it. She had been working hard on her studying and would soon graduate high school. Afterwards, she was going to do independent study at the mountain and earn her degree while getting experience that would prepare her for a professional career.

There were downsides, though. The biggest was giving up gymnastics. Some nights, she would cry over the thought of what she had given up, but she did not ever think of wanting to return to her old life of the narrow-focused goal of winning a nearly-impossible medal. She had grown past that world, though, she kept up with practicing. Gymnastics was an integral part of her. Just because she gave it up professionally, it did not mean she would stop. Contact with her friends in Boulder was less and less, as their lives grew farther apart, but she made sure to talk to her friends at least once a week. Ali had been ecstatic when she returned, but was disappointed when she began having less free time. The two still hung out on occasion, but Ali had gotten a boyfriend and was growing to the point where she could become the bubbly person she was in private to the world.

Meanwhile, her relationship with her aunt grew to where they were practically joined at the hip when they were on the same planet. They spent time together, whether talking about the latest physics theory (usually with Sam explaining it to her in a way to where she could keep up), watching movies, or simply eating lunch together.

Payson was helping out in the lab, working with her aunt on a device brought back several weeks ago that made people see strange creatures from a parallel universe. It was brought back on the first mission her aunt went on after her return. It caused the town to go on lockdown and caused her mom, sister, friends, ex-coach, and several others to call and find out what the hell was going on.

She stifled a giggle that attempted to break through at the thought of that incident.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked, noticing her hide her giggle.

"The town lockdown that happened a couple weeks ago. Everyone was so worried over something that was relatively harmless. When you know the truth, it's kind of funny because of what is really going on, instead of what people's imaginations create." Payson explained.

"I know what you mean, like all of the reported but unbelievable meteor showers and satellite crashes." Sam's eyes lit up at the thoughts of her past adventures.

"Exactly." Payson agreed before turning back to the object.

Just then, Jack came in barking, "Carter, thought I'd remind you of the mission to Abydos. We're leaving in half an hour."

"Thank you sir." Sam nodded, not looking up from the device.

After Jack left, Payson turned to Sam, "So, you heard him all right?" Sam agreed at this point, messing with a piece of the device, which showed she wasn't paying attention now. "So, you heard how you're about to go on a mission?" Sam gave a vacant agreement, again. "You also heard him profess his love for you and how he was going to retire, marry you, and have four kids." Sam did the same action of agreement. This caused Payson to crack up.

Sam looked up in confusion. She had found a piece that could control which parallel universe one could see, when the colonel came in to remind her about the mission Ascended Daniel to them about. She knew that wouldn't be funny. Then Payson had asked her if she paid attention, asked again, and mentioned something about… marriage and FOUR KIDS!?

Realization struck her. "Very funny, Pay."

"It was." Payson had the cheek to smile at this.

"I'm going to go get ready. When I come back, you'll be sooo grounded for doing that. And that includes gym _and _lab time being limited." Sam smirked as Payson's smile fell and her eyes went wide at the implications.

Payson began apologizing rapidly. She did not want to lose any time. She stopped mid-babble when Sam began cracking up. She had only been teasing!

"I can't believe you did that." Payson punched her aunt playfully on the arm.

"It's called revenge for the comment about the colonel." Sam said cheekily as she left.

Payson began to put the device up, careful not to activate it, as she had not been affected by it when it was first activated. She then headed to the gym to wait for her aunt to return. She soon reached the gym, taking a step up to the bars, thanking whatever deity allowed her to see this world and become a part of something that gave her a chance.

AN: you have come to the end of Payson's Chance. The sequel will be out soon. The ending was a bit hard to write, but I hope it satisfies everyone. If not, please review and give me your advice on what I can do to improve. Thank you for reading!


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